The New England Patriots set sights on the AFC divisional round without two.
Offensive tackles Morgan Moses and Thayer Munford Jr. stayed sidelined during Wednesday’s preparations for the Houston Texans due to knee ailments. But there were returnees in Foxborough.
Running back Terrell Jennings, nose tackle Khyiris Tonga, cornerback Christian Gonzalez were all back on hand in a partial capacity for the No. 2 seed.
Here’s the first injury report leading up to Sunday’s 3 p.m. ET kickoff at Gillette Stadium.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE
Patriots
- OT Morgan Moses (knee)
- OT Thayer Munford (knee)
Texans
- WR Nico Collins (concussion protocol)
- WR Justin Watson (concussion protocol)
- OT Trent Brown (ankle)
- DE Denico Autry (knee)
Moses stayed in for all 64 offensive snaps during Sunday’s 16-3 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. The starting right tackle went into the wild card at Gillette Stadium without game designation after missing the first practice of the playoffs because of an illness. But a knee injury did see Munford finish last week as a non-participant for consecutive sessions on the way to being listed as questionable. The latter has served an extension of the offensive line since circling back to the organization as a member of the 53-man roster in November.
On the other side of the divisional round, a back-to-back Pro Bowl wide receiver was among the sidelined for the No. 5 seed. Collins had been carted to the locker room after suffering a concussion on Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished with north of 1,000 receiving yards for the third regular season in a row.
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
Patriots
- RB Terrell Jennings (concussion protocol — IR return)
- TE Hunter Henry (knee)
- DT Khyiris Tonga (foot)
- LB Harold Landry III (knee)
- LB Anfernee Jennings (knee)
- CB Christian Gonzalez (concussion protocol)
Texans
- RB Jawhar Jordan (ankle)
- OT Tytus Howard (ankle)
- G Ed Ingram (shoulder)
- DT Sheldon Rankins (elbow)
- LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee)
- CB Kamari Lassiter (knee, ankle)
Wednesday saw Tonga practice for the first time since sustaining a foot injury that resulted in three games missed. The limited participants in Foxborough also included a pair working out of the NFL’s concussion protocol.
In the secondary, Gonzalez was present in a red non-contact jersey after being ruled out late last weekend. And in the backfield, so was Jennings as his 21-day window to be activated from officially opened. The 2024 undrafted arrival from Florida A&M had not practiced since the calendar turned to December.
FULL PARTICIPATION
Patriots
- CB Alex Austin (wrist — IR return)
Texans
- OT Aireontae Ersery (thumb)
- S Jaylen Reed (forearm)
- LS Austin Brinkman (knee)
After spending the past two weeks as a limited participant, Austin graduated to full participation for the Patriots on Wednesday. The cornerback returned to practice on New Year’s Eve and still awaits a return to the 53-man roster following a wrist procedure.
A trio also went in full for the Texans.
